An Unhealthy Passion
by superfeypower
Summary: That would be called cannibalism, my friend. And it is, in fact, frowned upon in most societies. Such a pity Sweeney Todd doesn't seem to care and Mrs. Lovett readily agrees with any notion he springs. Sweenett
1. Questions

**Unfortunately, I do not own Sweeney Todd. **

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"And where might this evening find Mr. Todd, Mrs. Lovett??"

To Mrs. Lovett, the man who had only moments ago entered her modest meat pie shop was no more than one of the nameless, faceless victims that would eventually befall the brutal, swift blade of her dear Mr. Todd. Therefore, she tried her hardest not to direct her eyes to his own, hating to see the victim for a person, who had dreams like her. Instead, she kneaded the dough needed for her next batch of pies, pretending that it wasn't a man she was speaking to, but Toby or a nice man who sometimes came to speak with Mr. Todd. Anthony, his name was.

"Oh, I s'ppose 'e'll be upstairs. Pacin' and broodin' as 'e always does whenever 'e's wit'out company." She shook her head, gently formed the dough into a bowl like shape. Soon she'd be filling it with this poor, unlucky man's corpse. She swiped at her forehead with a flour coated wrist, leaving a little smudge of white against the skin, not that it really could be seen standing out against the pallid flesh. "You can go right on up, if you'd like."

The man turned to leave as a soft spot dropped from the ceiling and splayed itself on the dough bowl. The bright red melting slowly into her pie caught her attention long enough for her to realize that no man should be traversing up the staircase until the mess above had been cleaned up. A glance to the ceiling made her lips part slightly and she turned from the sight, quickly dusting her hands off onto her skirts and approaching the man. "On the other 'and, I do believe I saw someone goin' up there not too long ago. An' Mr. Todd won't appreciate any interruptions on my behalf, will 'e?"

The man seemed to be protesting, as he started to make some sort of noise. She wasn't sure, she was more concerned with the amount of water-blood damage the floor of Sweeney Todd's floor and her ceiling was receiving. He was quickly hushed up by Mrs. Lovett's waggling finger and shaking head, disapproving his course of action. "Now, Mr. T don't like anyone up there while 'e's 'ard at work. 'Ow 'bout a nice meat pie while you wait, sir?" A loud clanking of metal gears against each other and then the typical sound of a body smashing into the floor of her cellar with its usual deftness caused a little jump to the man. Sweeney would be half done clearing the damage, she supposed. Now that the body was disposed of, he would have to clean the blood from the floor and change his shirt. Oh but first, he would surely see that his friend was cleaned up nicely, of course. And finally, he would toss the bloodied clothing and sheets into the trunk to be taken down to her and washed.

"What was that?"

Mr. Todd never liked the men who asked too many questions. These men were dealt with swiftly and without any pause or heed in his mind. Men spreading rumors about the shop were unnecessary. She didn't mind them all that much, of course as long as they weren't persistent or demanding, of course. Sometimes they made her nostalgic, her dear late husband rising like a bubble to the top of her mind. _God bless 'is soul, whenever 'e is. _She no longer mourned his death, nor despised him for leaving her not a speck of money but only his book of recipes for meat pies. None of which included how to bake a human properly. But it didn't matter anymore, she had her dear Sweeney all to herself now and no thoughts of her or his former lover would stop her advancements onto him.

"Oh, nothin' to be worryin' 'bout, I s'ppose." She strode over to the counter strewn with cooking supplies, dough and, long ago, a rather colorful array of bugs that squished into many different flavors. "Now, 'ow 'bout one of those pies I offered, hm?"

The man wasn't looking at her anymore, but up at the ceiling. Her heart sped up a bit, knowing right well that he was staring at the red stains that had gathered over each new victim's death. His eyes widened and he took a step or two towards the door, no doubt his instincts telling him to run for help. But the common factor of curiousness stopped him from running through the streets, shouting for help. "What is _that_?" He sounded more aghast, more worried that he was not in the right place.

"Oh, that on the ceilin' there? Nothin' but water damage. There was a bit of a fire here a while back, dear. Nothin' to be frightened of." She crossed the counter, holding out a tray of her now famous pies. "Won't you try one, sir? Fresh out of the oven, they are." The sharp sound of Sweeney's trunk slamming down caused more fright onto the man and he drew back his hand just as he was about to select one of the treats. His eyes were directed at the ceiling once more, looking at the blood stains to the pies and then to the woman. His mouth opened, forming only the words:

"What was-"

A sweet smile crossed her face, the last drop of sweetness he would see before death embraced his bloody body. "Mr. Todd will see you now."

The man, distracted by her voice, dripping and coated in sweet, poisoned honey, turned from her, gathered his hat back upon his head and then started out the shop door. "Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Lovett, but I think I'll jus' go up for my shave."A tiny smile with no feeling behind it answered him and he turned, guiding his feet up to the long staircase. The barber's door opened and Mr. Todd stepped out open the little landing, his dark eyes falling upon his newest victim, hands caressing each other to dry up the water on his hands. Not like the smile Mrs. Lovett had given him, Mr. Sweeney Todd's smile was incredibly dark, foreboding. It had feeling behind it, but not the feeling that one would really enjoy behind the razor at their neck. He calmed himself. Sweeney had been given good reviews. Closest shave you'd ever get.

Before he closed the shop door behind he and his customer, Sweeney's gaze fell down onto the woman at her own shop door, partially opened as his was. He said nothing to her, but yet she slowly began to smile, a true smile with teeth and meaning. His lips remained static as he shut the door and turned to his customer, words of temporary kindness falling upon him. Downstairs, the baker gave a heavy sigh as she let her own door close behind her.

Only minutes later, while Mrs. Lovett was starting down the long staircase into darkness with a tray of molded pies to be stuffed and baked, the familiar sounds of her dear Sweeney's chair working its way backwards and the ceiling sliding open to drop its load into the basement caused a smile to lift onto her lips.

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	2. Memories

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews, love, and watches. Nothing inspires me to write updates and write better chapters than getting feedback. So, if you one of the people who decided to watch this fic but you don't review, please do! Even if you just ask for an update or say that you like it, it will mean the world to me! Receiving positive feedback and constructive criticism really helps me out, so send away! **

**This chapter was written in a bit of a rush and I was watching movies while writing it, so... there may be some errors. Unfortunately, I do not have a beta right now and I really don't like re-reading my own work. Enjoy. **

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The night that they had taken the man she had developed such a fearsome crush on was possibly (no, strike that, definitely) the worst day of her entire life. She had done _everything_ for him and never, not for a single moment, thought that one day it could all be destroyed with such an easy amount of effort from a force that had been truly unexpected. The baker had prepared for the moment when it would be only her and the barber and no one else would matter to them, save for perhaps a child or two. She had gone to great lengths to secure this fantasy and now, seeing him taken away only hurt her and inspired a large amount of malice within the woman.

From the first moment Mrs. Lovett had laid eyes on Mr. Barker, she knew that he was the only desire her heart had ever wanted. It had been a nice day, out in the market and she had been shopping for ingredients to make the crust for her pies, which at the time had been something that people enjoyed and would _pay_ to buy. He had been on his own at the time when she first saw him and it sent her heart a flutter, causing her cheeks to light up with a bright blush. Once she had managed to move closer, her eavesdropping ears happened to catch what he was saying and figured out that he was looking for a place to take residence and set up his own barbershop. The rest he said about his wife she didn't catch, though if she did, she may have never approached him and never had brought start to the greatest and most revolting killing spree London had ever seen. But, because she did not catch what he had said about having a wife, Mrs. Lovett approached him timidly and suggested that they live in the boarding above her meat pie emporium. She promised low rent and he eagerly agreed, happy that he finally had somewhere to go.

The day that he came to Fleet street was supposed to be a happy day, but instead the day turned into somewhat of a horror show. Benjamin (yes, she had already learned his first name) had came bringing with him a wife, who was apparently with child. After she had given them the tour and they settled on a price, she returned to her room where she proceeded to weep and mourn over her own stupidity. The couple upstairs were _perfect_ together and how could she ever think that such a great man would not already be attached? But already her mind was clinging onto the fantasies that she had created on her own whim and now she began to form a new plan. Life was easily taken away, so why couldn't the love she thought they could have become true? With a few manipulations and hardly any effort, it would be extremely easy to succeed at the dreams she had planned.

The first part of her plan had already been put into motion before she had realized that the man she desired was taken. The day before he was to arrive, she had taken a short trip to the apothecary just down the street and secured a large amount of arsenic, claiming that there were pests in the cellar and she could not have them contaminating her pies. Mrs. Lovett had then taken the dinner she prepared for her husband, added in some of the poison and served it to him. Only a week later, the 'illness' that had been plaguing him had finally succeeded in taking his life away. The baker had played the innocent part of the lonely widow and secretly rejoiced when, at the funeral, Benjamin had come and given her a brief hug to comfort her. The first step was complete; get rid of the husband that made _her_ unavailable and now, get rid of the wife that made him unavailable.

This step had been extremely complicated, as she couldn't very well poison Lucy without Mr. Barker finding out. And somehow she suspected that if he found out of her treachery, he would not be at all pleased with Mrs. Lovett's choice. But strangely, a judge seemed to be able to cut in and assist her while assuring that no one would ever realize that she had been behind the entire thing. Judge Turpin had arrested Benjamin and once Lucy informed Mrs. Lovett of what had occurred, the baker immediately promised her she would do anything to free the barber. She came to Turpin in innocence, promising him the world as long as he let the man free. When he discovered that they had a common problem ( a non-compliant lover), Turpin suggested that if Mrs. Lovett could assure him that Lucy would become his lover, he would free Benjamin Barker from prison.

Mrs. Lovett had convinced Lucy when the Beadle had come to collect her that the party would be good for her and that it would help free her husband from jail. When Lucy had insisted that she could not go because no one would watch Johanna, Mrs. Lovett so kindly offered to take care of the baby until Lucy returned. Unfortunately, the plan hadn't gone through as smoothly as she thought it would. It seemed that instead of wooing Lucy, like Mrs. Lovett had instructed, the Judge had decided to take advantage of her and therefore, forever ruined the chance that she could ever love him. Along with the crushed chance at a relationship, Judge Turpin had also chosen to shove Benjamin Barker onto the next boat out of London. Nellie Lovett and Lucy alike were both heartbroken at the thought that they would never see the barber again.

Of course, the widow comforted Lucy with fallacies and pretended to care greatly for the woman. But all of the blond's crying and depression only made her life worse and eventually, Mrs. Lovett decided that she could no longer withstand the annoyances that Lucy provided, especially due to the fact that she was still sore about losing Mr. Barker. With the leftover arsenic she had after the incident with her husband, Mrs. Lovett had served the barber's wife a large bowl of soup laced with the small remainder of poison. Another unfortunate event occurred when the baker discovered that the arsenic had not been enough to kill, but only melt the blond woman's mind until she went completely mad. By that point, it no longer made any sense to Mrs. Lovett to keep the woman around and reported that she had been stealing from her pie shop. Upon being brought to court, Turpin's mind had been clouded by the fact that he had once very much loved that woman and instead of sentencing her to death, he ruled her to be insane and sent her to a mad house. Upon finding herself with a child she did not want (for Johanna looked much too like her mother), Mrs. Lovett wrapped the bundle of joy up and had discarded it upon Turpin's doorstep.

But he had returned to her and now things could finally begin to go according to plan. Once they secured Johanna and ridded the world of Turpin, they could finally have the life that Mrs. Lovett had always dreamed they could have. How could one little idea require so much planning? It certainly took a lot out of a woman.

Sweeney Todd could not help but wonder what had gotten into the usually talkative woman today. He hadn't heard a single word from the baker and it almost worried him. _Almost_. No, he was relieved that she wasn't talking as much as usual, but it was extremely unusual not to hear her voice. In fact, just by looking at Mrs. Lovett, Mr. Todd had the faintest idea that she was not feeling well. Her look had been extremely vacant the entire day and every moment or so, she would sigh as if in some far off world. "Mrs. Lovett," He called softly after the fifth time she had sighed in only ten minutes. "Shouldn't you be working...?"

Her gaze brought itself back to his and very faintly, she nodded before turning the other way and walking away. Sweeney was not at all appeased at the way she turned so slowly and returned to the work that he suggested she get to. Something was wrong with the woman, but honestly, he could hardly loose any sleep over it. In fact, he may sleep even better without listening to her constant chatter.


End file.
